Dirt Sandwich

I stopped by Subway today for one of those free breakfast sandwiches on my way to work. The news is not good. I described the smell of my sandwich to a coworker as smelling like “my dog after a day at the dog park; he smells like aggression and dirt”. I’m not sure you want your breakfast to smell like aggression and dirt. It was super bland. Maybe I should have added banana peppers and chipotle mayo to my egg sandwich to spice it up a bit? Gross.

What sort of shoes do you wear with skinny or straight-legged jeans? My skinny/straight-leg pants are easy to figure out, as they’re all cropped. But I’m struggling with full-length, non-flared jeans. Sandals are always easy, but not always appropriate for Midwest weather or casual Friday at work. My go-tos have been a pair of bejeweled ballet flats and a pair of equestrian riding boots, but I’d like to have a few other options. I just feel like I have clown feet when I wear loafers or fashion athletic shoes with a jean that doesn’t flare on the bottom. I’ve done the rolled-leg jean look which seems easier to pair shoes with, but again I don’t feel like it’s appropriate for all situations.

Since I’ve started using Google Reader, I respond much less frequently to blogs. I read all of the blogs of my friends, design blogs, fashion blogs, etc, but I don’t comment because it requires me to click through from Reader to the actual blog. How lazy am I? But I know my friends must be doing it too, because people tell me they read it but I rarely get comments. Have sites like Reader reduced interactions on blogs? Do you avoid viewing commenter drama, or having to visit lots of individual sites, by using Google Reader or the like? Is this convenience one more way technology is allowing us to have less real interaction with one another?

Donuts

I’m craving donuts pretty bad today. Cream-filled long john, caramel-iced Persian, glazed cruller, jelly-filled round or just a box of Krispy Kremes…anything will do. Mmmmmmm.

We purchased patio furniture last week. We had a tough time making the decision whether to do a dining table and chairs or to do a seating group. We went the dining table route at our last house, but donated the furniture rather than having to move with it. The truth is, as much as we love the idea of dining outside, we primarily used the furniture for sitting around on a warm day with a magazine, or entertaining a neighbor with a beer, and we can do that more comfortably with a seating group. We ordered it and it arrived yesterday. We will be assembling it tonight and I’m VERY excited. Something about non-plastic patio furniture makes me feel grown up, and buying things that are going to last means that I’m being much more eco-friendly in the long run versus buying disposable plastic nonsense.

I played in a softball scrimmage last night. I’m not formally joining a team this year; nothing can ever replace my old team in my heart, and with late nights at work I can’t commit to making every game. I’m going to be on the call list as a substitute, and I love that idea. It felt good to do some fielding and shake off the cobwebs. That counts as exercise, right?

This & That, and your mom

I read a great article that Kohl's will be expanding its ELLE line to include ELLE Decor. Um, yay!

I recently wrote to the author of a J.Crew fan blog that I read, asking for help on fitting the tops. No help, though. I thought it would make an interesting post, asking which tops fit best on the bustier set. Since most J.Crew tops seem to be fitted for the I'm-built-like-an-adolescent-boy crowd, I was wondering if certain tops work better for the busty. I guess that didn't sound interesting enough to mention on her blog, so I'm mentioning it here! Anyone? I just don't live terribly close to a J.Crew (well, there's an outlet, but I'm talking first-run), and I HATE ordering items just to have to pay return shipping.

I love my new job. I've been busy, which is why I've been terrible at blogging regularly, but here I am! Running around, meeting people, being random and doing 18 things at once - this is totally my thing. So far. Just remember your comfy pumps on the days you need to run around. I am rocking some serious blisters today.


Photo - austin360.com

But I NEED it

As much as I love shopping, I realize that I don't need everything. I've been trying to remind myself that it's better to buy quality, beautiful things that speak to me than to have a disposable wardrobe of cheap things that will wear out and need constant replacement. So, with that in mind, here is a great post from Re-Nest about buying what you need: http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/how-to/how-to-buy-only-what-you-love-and-need-113956

Geese are the squirrels of the water

I blogged about switching from an antiperspirant to a deodorant back in January, and I am sorry to say I've switched back. At least for the warm-weather months, I need to have something pretty tough since my office is very warm.

I might describe my style as preppy meets 70s hippie-chic, and today I am definitely more hippie. Pink patterned tunic, white flared jeans and gladiator heals with a stacked wooden heel is rather hippie looking in my opinion. But I'm happy, and my looks says I'm happy, so it's all good. Look, Zen me.

Photo: thevintagesociety.com

Around the web

For those of you who are regular viewers of Launch My Line, the winning line went up on Ruelala.com yesterday. It was mostly sold out when I went on Ruelala to check it out about 30 minutes after it went up. That was fast. I was disappointed at how few items they had. For anyone needing a member sponsor to visit Ruelala.com, I'm happy to sponsor you. Just let me know.

For those who haven't seen it, MSN.com has created a new section under their "Lifestyle" heading called Glo. It seems to have some better, younger content. I guess it was created to work well on smart phones and iPads, of which I have neither, but I find it is just as much fun to poke around on my desktop computer.

Summer catalogs

A new Boden USA catalog came in the mail yesterday. Who else is loving the skirts? Although, really, they charge a lot for some pretty simple cotton clothing.

I used to have a pair of wing-tip lace-up loafers in this great chili brown. I looked like a nerdy prep in them, but I LOVED them. Now, ladies wing-tips and saddle shoes are back! I want a pair badly.

Shoe love

People who love their shoes will keep them in the original boxes, tagging the front of the box with a picture of the shoes the box contains. People who are obsessed with shoes don't need pictures. They know what shoes are in every box instinctively.

Today is a rainy day, and I can never get myself to put on a cute pair of shoes in the rain. I don't want to ruin fabrics, don't want to get my feet wet, and don't want to slip and fall. So today I'm wearing a nerdy pair of Sesto Meucci loafers. Hot.

I painted my nails a festive green for the Easter holiday. I thought the color was going to be mint, but it ended up being more of a lime. Like I said, FESTIVE. Yikes.


Photo - frenchtouchimage.com

If health care isn't a right, is dying?

A supervisor sent me an email asking me if it was going to just be me on my insurance policy, or if my husband will be on the policy as well. I let her know that he is already insured through his employer. I was going to make a joke about it just being me and the dog needing insurance, but then I remembered that our dog IS insured. I live in a home where the only uninsured
individual, including pets, is me.

So, how does that happen? When we moved and my husband switched jobs, his new plan was cost prohibitive for me to join. It would have cost me two unemployment checks just to be added to his policy. That is how someone becomes uninsured.

I feel like there's a myth in this country that the uninsured are crackheads, criminals, drug-dealers, lazy people, women with eight different kids by eight different baby daddies, or people who are just generally working the welfare system. I've heard a lot of rhetoric lately about the uninsured, and I find a lot of it offensive. In fact, the uninsured are people like me. I am one. You could meet me anywhere - neighborhood association meeting, dog park, the Gap, church...pretty much any normal place except on a corner making drug deals. I'm hard-working, educated, and don't want to be uninsured or underinsured.

So what would I like? Standards put in place for medical costs. Everyone has coverage. If there's a fear that universal, government-run heath care will create over-usage of the system, fine, keep co-pays in place. But I don't deserve to die, and another to live, simply because of the type of job I have or don't have. That's crazy. This is America, people.